Prosecutors Vow To Keep Merzbacher In Prison

Ruling Could Free Convicted Child Rapist

UPDATED 6:52 AM EDT Aug 03, 2010

BALTIMORE -

State and Baltimore prosecutors are vowing to keep a former teacher convicted of raping a student in prison.

John Merzbacher, a former Catholic school teacher, was sentenced on July 21, 1995, to life in prison for the rape of one of his students at the Catholic Community School in south Baltimore in the 1970s.

On Friday, a federal judge ruled Merzbacher should be offered a plea deal that would get him out of prison. Merzbacher had argued that his lawyer, Christina Guiterrez, failed him by not telling him about the state's offer of a plea bargain. Guiterrez has since died.

The judge ruled that Merzbacher had ineffective counsel because he wasn't given a chance to accept a 10-year plea deal in 1994. The ruling requires a Baltimore judge to agree to the deal. Merzbacher has already served 15 years in prison.

"Merzbacher stands convicted of child rape -- a crime both hideous and heinous -- but like all persons charged with crime in our society, he was entitled to the protections of the Sixth Amendment, of which the court has found he was unconstitutionally deprived," U.S. Circuit Court Judge Andre M. Davis wrote.

Prosecutors said they believe justice was served and that the conviction and sentence should stand.

"The state's attorney will do everything she can to preserve justice for these victims," said Margaret Burns, who represents the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office.

Liz Murphy, said she was sexually, emotionally and physically abused when Merzbacher was her teacher at Catholic Community School in south Baltimore.

"I can't live with myself. If I don't know that I've done everything within my power to make sure this man never sees the light of day," she said.

Joanne Suder, an attorney who represented many victims in lawsuits against the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said she is also concerned about the possible release of Merzbacher.

"Is there a judge on the Circuit Court of Baltimore City who would have honored that particular plea bargain then?" Suder said.

"(State's Attorney Patricia) Jessamy has directed prosecutors in our office to conduct an exhaustive review of the records to make sure that no stone is unturned in our effort to preserve justice for these victims," Burns said.

Murphy started a petition drive over the weekend in an effort to keep Merzbacher in prison. She said she has collected as many as 600 signatures, which includes some of the victims.